So this one right here is actually the last thread.
Really? …Yea.
Like I said from the beginning we all grow uniquely into Christ, but these — thread1, thread 2 and thread3 — are common factors in our grows.
So let’s dive right in…
Watch the WHO you spend your time with,
The WHERE you spend your time, and
The WHAT you spend your time on.
“… for what partnership has right living
And right standing with God with iniquity and
Lawlessness? Or how can light fellowship
With darkness? “
2 Corinthians 6:14 (AMP)
When we accepted the offering of Jesus, we were delivered from darkness and brought into God’s light. We cannot go back and have fellowship with anything that represents the darkness we’ve been saved from… it shouldn’t be.
We can’t have the same interest unbelievers have. Our priorities, our opinions, our decisions, our choices, what we say yes to, what we say no to… etc. has to be obviously different from that of unbelievers. So much so, the unbelievers around us must notice. Why? Because our focus is now on Jesus, and the Bible tells us that the spiritual things we believe and walk towards are foolishness to an unbeliever. See 1corinthians 1:18
It is important, therefore, to understand that any person, place or thing that doesn’t help but distract our focus from Jesus shouldn’t be a part of our lives. We can’t have fellowship with such things. We should be away from them, as far as possible. In fact, we should TOTALLY DISCONNECT from them.
But what happens to family and friends that are unbelievers? You may ask. There’s no general answer for everybody, because we can’t have the same scenario for everyone, especially when it comes to family, because we don’t get to choose our parents and siblings, God chose them for us. So, sincerely, talk to God about it, He’ll show you how to go about it, and if He leads you to give them space… GO FOR IT!
Giving them space doesn’t mean you’ll care for or love them less. In fact, God will want to use you as a channel to show His unconditional love towards them, be available and let God use you.
They’ll all make you feel guilty most times, but that shouldn’t bother you, because we’re all going to stand for ourselves, by ourselves, before God.
Don’t be scared to do what God will have you do… don’t be scared of losing friends, don’t be scared of getting family upset… trust God, He’ll come through for you.
We can’t change unbelievers; that’s the job of the Holy Spirit… if they’re willing. Don’t keep doing and being all they what you to do and be; if you do, they’ll drag you down. They’ll corrupt the very morals and character you’re building. If you sincerely want to grow, you don’t want that to happen, do you?
“Do not be deceived and misled!
Evil companionship, (communion, associations)
Corrupt and deprave good manners
And morals and character”
1 Corinthians 15:33 (AMP)
Recently, someone asked me if the above scripture was in the Bible. Yep! It is. You don’t have to take my word for it. Go on, get your own Bible and open to 1 Corinthians 15:33, I’m a 100% sure you’ll find it in the Bible.
one day as I meditated on this verse of the Bible, the Holy Spirit told me that company is not just about people, but also what influences my ideology, belief system and values, like: things I listen to, things I watch, things I read, places I visit etc.
So then, if you don’t have unbelieving family and friends, what about what you listen to, what you watch, what you read etc. We can’t grow spiritually if we don’t have boundaries… boundaries that are set by the Holy Spirit Himself. There are things that make you feel and act in an ungodly way, prayerfully renew your mind and ask for Grace to stay away from them. Also, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas you need to have boundaries, He will. When He reveals them to you, you’ll probably find it difficult to let go… I know… I’ve been there… several times, and I’m there again even as I type this.
But one thing is for sure, God will never ask us to let go of something that is good for us, and whatever He asks us to do is solely for our own good. God doesn’t benefit from our obedience. He asks us to do or not do something because He wants us to be receiving from Him in abundance.
When you let go of something, you have to hold on to something.
Now we’re letting go of things that are not healthy for our spirit man, we also have to, deliberately, surround ourselves with things that are healthy.
Spend time listening to God’s word and gospel music. Prayerfully ask God to lead you to ministers that are inspired by Him. God will answer. When He does, make it a norm to have messages playing in your space. When you are cleaning out your closest, listen to it. When you’re heading to work…to school… listen to it. When you’re trying to sleep but you can’t, listen to it, instead of Facebook and Instagram.
Do you have a church you’re committed to? If you don’t, prayerfully ask God to lead you to a Bible believing, Holy Spirit leading church. He will. The Bible tells us that all believers are different members of the body of Christ, and that we all need each other. Get a church, look for an opportunity to serve in the church. Serving will help you have:
Accountability
Godly friends
Commitment to God
Don’t compare your journey with another person’s journey.
If God asks you to stop doing a particular thing, don’t question the instruction because someone you respect, someone you believe is spiritually more matured than you, is still doing it. Always remember that your growth in Christ is unique and very much personal.
You don’t know what is going on in the life of another man unless God decides to let you in on it, and often times than less God don’t let us know what is going on in the life of other persons. God might have asked that person to let go of that particular thing and the person is refusing, on the other hand, the person might not have heard God say anything about that particular thing like you’ve heard. You don’t have to place your obedience on another’s obedience. Or maybe, for the sake of your assignment God needs you to stay away from some things, places and person. You don’t have to say NO because some other person that have another purpose is still very much close to such things, places and persons.
Jesus, only Jesus, is the standard
No man, no Bishop, no Pastor, no Apostle, no Evangelist… (What other title is left?)… No other is the standard, except Jesus. For this reasons, you can’t criticize my FAITH and get me hurt. Jesus is the only standard of/for my FAITH, if you find fault in Him then you have a case against me and my FAITH, if not… forget it.
“Looking away from all that will distract to Jesus,
Who is the Leader and Source of our Faith
Giving the first incentive for our belief
And it’s also its Finisher, bringing it to
Maturity and perfection…”
Hebrews 12:2 (AMP)
Focus only on Jesus.
If the Holy Spirit convicts you about what you watch, what you say, where you go, who you go with… obey the Holy Spirit. People that didn’t get the conviction with you will make you feel bad and try to act funny around you, but always remember that they didn’t suffer and die for you, and they don’t know your future like God does.
So the Holy Spirit has told you to avoid certain songs, but you find such songs in the playlist of your Christian mentor… dear, remember who the standard is— JESUS!
It is also important that we don’t go about criticizing other persons, because of what they still do, that’s not Godly. We can’t change anybody, that’s the job of the Holy Spirit. But we are commanded to love people, as we are loved by God… how can we reflect this in reality?
Pray for them.
Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to people, and give you the right words for the people.
Tell them the truth in love.
Leave the rest for God.
Obedience is good company
A good company that you need is a willing heart… a willing heart that always wants to obey God. From a personal experience, this cannot just happen unless you choose to let it.
We cannot leave obedience to God to happen by chance in our lives… we have to continually renew our minds, daily, in other to make our heart obedience friendly. We cannot obey God’s word with our human efforts; we always need Grace… but you see, Grace only walks with willing hearts. How do I know?
Titus 2:11 (AMP) says:
“For the Grace of God—His
Unmerited favour and blessing—
Has come forward (appeared) for
The deliverance from sin and the
Eternal salvation for all mankind”
Yet it is not all men that are saved.
Again Matthew 18:14 (AMP) tells us:
“…it is not the will of My
Father who is in heaven that one of
These little ones should be lost and perish”
Yet people are perishing. Why?
Because Revelation 3:20 (AMP) tells us:
“Behold I stand at the door and knock;
If anyone hears and listen to and heeds My voice
And open the door; I will come in to him
And eat with him, and he (shall eat) with me”
It is our choice to let Him in or not. It is our choice to decide whether to live for Jesus or not to live for Him. God cannot make that choice for us, if He can, then no one will make it to hell. Everybody will automatically become His children, because it is not His will for any man to perish.
You see, Grace only works with willing hearts… we create willing hearts by renewing our hearts (spending time with the God’s word, meditating on God’s word, talking to God about His word, deciding to do what the word says and asking for Grace to help achieve our decision)… Grace empowers a willing heart to purse obedience… and obedience is good company.
Steps…
As much as every good teacher wants a child to do well, a good teacher cannot teach a child B before A. The Holy Spirit is more than a good Teacher (Trainer), He cannot let us step unto B, without showing step A. If we don’t yield to Him, if we don’t follow His instructions about step A, if we don’t learn all there is on step A, we can’t get unto B… if we don’t yield to His convictions, learn His ways, pass our tests… God won’t love us any less, but… we will not grow.
If we’re not growing, we’re SURE living out of God’s will for us… we’re, definitely, not fulfilling PURPOSE.
Let your WHO, WHAT and WHERE, be Holy Spirit approved.
Stay Spiritual Fit.
